United Nations special rapporteur to speak about Indigenous rights

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz will discuss priorities and challenges of new role

What: Two talks about the role of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesWho: Victoria Tauli-CorpuzWhen: Monday, March 30, 7 p.m.Where: Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts, 421 Cawston Avenue, KelownaWhen: Tuesday, March 31, 9:30 a.m.Where: University Centre Ballroom, UNC 200, UBC campus

While many of the world’s remaining natural resources are mostly found in Indigenous people’s territories around the globe, there continues to be a basic violation of their rights while others access and harvest these resources. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, an Indigenous leader from the Cordillera Region in the Philippines, will be in Kelowna to discuss her new role as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—especially when it comes to their resources.

Tauli-Corpuz is the former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. As an Indigenous leader she became actively engaged in drafting and the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

Tauli-Corpuz will host two public talks while in Kelowna. Her first takes place Monday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at the Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts. Her topic of discussion is: Why a UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is Necessary.

The second event takes place at UBC Okanagan’s University Centre Ballroom UNC 200 on Tuesday, March 31 at 9:30 a.m. Here Tauli-Corpuz will discuss the role of the UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples in the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Both presentations are free and open to the public. Tauli-Corpuz’s talks are presented by UBC Okanagan’s Indigenous Studies Program, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, with support from UBC’s Invited International Distinguished Visitor Fund.